Switch-working mechanism



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y UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE. 'y

ROBERT E. RRAOKELSRERG AND GEORGE e; EDWARDS, OE PORTLAND, r OREGON. l yy SWITCH-WORKING ,MEoHAruslvL4 SPECIFICATION forming part of LettersPatent N o. 519,230, dated May 1, 1894.`

` Application filed Tune 27, 1893- Serial No. 478,977. (No model.) l

To @ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known thatwe, ROBERT E. BRACKELS- `RER@ and GEORGE G. EDWARDS, ofPortland, in the county of Multnomah and State of Orfegon, have inventeda new and Improved Switch-Working Mechanism, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description.

`Our invention relates to improvements in that class of devices whichare adapted to automatically throw a switch bythe movement of atrain. li

. The object of our invention is to prevent misplaced switches byproviding a simple automatic switch-working mechanism worked by apassing train and which will also close the switch so that the traincannot by any possibility run oft the track and take a siding.

A further object of our invention'is to construct this mechanism in avery simple and substantial manner and arrange it so that it may beconnected with any ordinary switch or switch stand, andalso to make theconnection between the switch stand and our improved mechanism in such amanner that the switch may be Operated by hand in the usual way and thatthe mechanism may be operated by the train without interfering with theswitch stand.

To this end our invention consists oi'V cer.

tain features of construction and combinations of parts, as will behereinafter described and` claimed. v

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar figures of reference indicatecorresponding` parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a broken plan view of a track, showing the main line, sidingand switch and our improved switch mechanism, a portion of which isshown in section. Fig. 2 isa side elevation of an ordinary switch standwhich is adapted to Vconnect with our improved switch mechanism. Fig; 3is a detail sec-` tional view of a portion of the mechanism, showing thearrangement of the lever which is actuated by the flange of a car wheeland which works the switch. Fig. 4 is a broken detail View, partly` insection, of the adjust able contact block carried by an engine andadapted to engage and work the switch mechanism. Fig. 5 is an'invertedplan view of the contactblock. Fig. 6 is a broken detail View ofthelevers between the switch rails, showing them in the oppositeposition to that illustrated in Fig. 1.

In the drawings, 7 represents the rails of the main line, 8 the rails ofthe sidings, and 9 the customary1 switch rails which are adapted toalign with either the siding or main line rails in the usual way. Theswitch stand 10 isalso of the usual kind, having the customary lever 11and switch rod 12, but this switch `rod instead of `connecting directlywith the switch rails in the usual way, enters a case 13 which isarranged at the side of the track near the free ends of the switch railsand opposite the same, the rod 12 havingit-s inner end recessed on oneside, as shown at 14, in Fig. 1, and this recess has a convex back walll5 in which, at the center, is a notch 16 adapted to engage the tooth 17on the end of a swinging dog 18 which is fulcrumed near the center, as`

shown at 19, on one end of a second switch rod 2O which formspractically a continuation of the rod 12 and which is connected with theswitch rails 9 in the usual way, the `rod being jointed at 20?' topermit the swinging of the switch rails.

The dog 18 has one end `bent outward, as shown at 21, which end has aIiat face adapted to slide against the side of the case 13, and this endis also adapted to enter a notch 22 in the case,`when the tooth 17 isout of the notch 16 and when in this position the switch rails connectedtherewith are in position to close the switch. 'lhedog 18 is held, sothat it normally engages the notches 16 and 22, by a spring 23 which issecured to the rod 2O and which presses against the dog. The dog ispivotally connected by means of a link 24 with a tilting lever 25, whichis fulcrumed near its center, as shown at 26, on the rod 20 and which`is pressed so as to lie normally parallel with the rod by a spring 27.The outer end of the lever 25 lies against the ilat face of a tiltingblock 28 to which is secured arod 29 which acts as a shiftingv rod andwhich extends outward through a slotin the inner end` of the case 13 andbeneath one of the switch rails 9, the outer end of the shifting rodbeing pivoted to one arm 30 of a three armed lever 31 which is fulcrumedbeneath the track,

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as shown at 32, and has oppositely extending arms 33 adapted to strikeand tilt the lever 34, which is also fulcrumed centrally beneath thetrack as shown at 35, and both levers may be inclosed in a case ifdesired. The lever 34 has one end pivoted to a rod 36 which extendsparallel with the track rails and isat its other end pivoted to one endof a lever 37, which is fulcrumed in the center on a stud 38 and turnshorizontally on a suitable support. The opposite end of the lever 37 hasan upwardly extending pin 39 thereon, which projects into the path of acontact block 40 which is carried beneath the locomotive and which isprovided with a longitudinal groove 41 on its under side, wide enough toreceive the pin, and having flaring ends 42 to make sure of itsconnection with the pin 39. W'hen the switch is open the lever 37extends transversely of the track, so that the pin 39 may be struck bythe Haring ends of the contact block, but when the switch is closed, thepin 39 is in position to pass freely through the groove 41 in the block.

The contact block is vertically movable, as described presently, andwhen in its lowest position it strikes the pin 39 so as to tilt thelever 37 and operate the switch shifting mechanism, as hereinafterdescribed, but if it is not desired to throw the switch by the movementof the locomotive, the contact block is raised slightly so that the pinmay slide freely through the groove without affecting the switchmechanism. i The contactblock 40 has an upwardly-extending shank 43which slides in a hanger44beneath the locomotive 45, and the shank 43has teeth at its upper end, as shown at 46, which engage a segmentalrack 47 which is also hung to swing vertically in the hanger 44 and isprovided with a crank 48, to which is pivoted a reach rod 49, and thelatter extends upward into the cab of the engine so that by manipulatingit properly the rack 47 may be tilted and the shank 43 and contact block40 raised or lowered.

The mechanism just described is adapted to operate the switch when thetrain is running in one direction, and to provide for operating theswitch when the train is going in the opposite direction,-the lever 34has its other end pivoted to a rod 50 which runs along the track in theopposite direction to the rod 36, and the rod 50 connects with a crank51 on a crank shaft 52, this being journaled in supports 53 on the trackand having secured to it a curved arm 54 which lies at the side of oneof the rails 7 and projects slightly above the rail so as to be struckand depressed by a passing wheel. The arm will only project above therail when the switch is opened, as will be seen from its connection withthe lever 34.

Thesprings 23 and 27 are sufciently stiff to hold the dog 18 and lever25 in the position shown in Fig. 1 and permit the switch to be thrown bythe hand lever 11 in the ordinary way, but the springs are overcome bythe greater power of a train, and if the switch stand is locked and theswitch open, then the operation is as follows: Suppose the train to becoming from the side on which the lever 37 lies and that it is notdesirable to take a siding the block 40 is lowered and, as the trainapproaches the switch one of the haring sides of the block strikes thepin 39 and tilts the levers 37 and 34 the Haring side of the blockserving to swing the pin and lever to one side, and when the pin alignswith the groove 41 it slides freely through the groove in the block.lVhen the lever 34 is tilted it strikes an arm 33 of the lever 3l, andif the lever 31 is in the position shown in Fig. 1, tilts it to theleft, while if it is in the position shown in Fig. 6, it tilts it to theright. The position of the lever 31, will, of course, depend on whetherthe switch, which as illustrated is a double one, is thrown to the rightor left. When the lever 3l is tilted it pushes or pulls, as the case maybe, on the rod 29, which oscillates the block 28, tilts the lever 25 anddog 18, and as the block 28 is fulcrumed on the rod 20, the abovedescribed movement also moves the said rod and throws the switch rails 9into position to close the switch. This will bring the tooth 17 out ofthe notch 16, and the head 21 of the dog 18 will catch into the recess22 and thus hold the switch in closed position. If the train is comingfrom the opposite direction and the switch is open, the curved arm orlever 54 will project slightly above the rail 7 and a wheel of the trainwill strike and depress the said lever, thus oscillating the crank shaft52 and oscillating the crank 51 so as to pull upon the -rod 50 and tiltthe lever 34 which will actuate the switch mechanism and close theswitch in the manner already described.

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent* 1. The combination, with a switch stand and anadjacent switch, of a two part switch rod connecting the stand andswitch, the parts being connected by a coupling adapted to hold theparts of the rod in operative position to be thrown by hand but to beseparated when thrown by a train, a swinging lever pivoted on a trackbetween the switch rails and connected with devices actuated by thepassing of a train, a tilting three-armed lever pivoted on the track andhaving two of its arms arranged to be alternately struck by the swinginglever, and an operative connection between the three-armed lever and thecoup-v IOC IIC

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` be operated by a passing a lever mechanism on the closing the adjacentends of the switch rod,

a spring-pressed dog pivoted on, one section j of the switch rod andarrangedto engage the adjacent switch rod section and also a notch inthe case, ashift rod operatively connected with the dog to release thesame, and a lever mechanism on the track adapted to be operated by apassing train and arranged to actu- `ate the shift rod, substantially asdescribed.

4. In a switch mechanism, the combination, with the switch rod and theswinging lever pivoted upon the track and operatively connected with theswitch rod, of a pin arranged on one end of the tilting lever andprojecting upward, and a vertically movable grooved contact block withHaring ends carried by a locomotive andY adapted `to `engage'the pin,

substantially as described.

5. The combination, of the switch, `the switch stand, the two-partswitch rod connecting the switch and stand, one part ofthe rod having arecess with a convex back wall and a central notch thereima caseinclosing the adjacent ends of the switch rod and provided with a notchin one wall, a tilting springpressed dog having a tooth at one end toengage the notch of the switch rod and a head p at the other to engagethe notch of the case,

a spring-pressed lever fulcrumed on one section ot' the switch rod andpivoted to the dog, a sliding shift rod projecting through one end ofthe case and pivotally connected with the lever, and a lever mechanism`on the track adapted to be operated by a passing train and to move theshift rod, substantially as described. j

ROBERT E. BRACKELSBERG. GEORGE G. EDWARDS. Witnesses: e

BEN CARPENTER,

C. F. -THARR

